Choosing the correct recording platform for your video surveillance project is vital to the overall success of your project. Choosing the correct recording platform for your video surveillance project is vital for its overall success. There are many different types of recording technologies available in the marketplace today and without understanding how to choose the right recording platform for your project needs it’s unlikely your video surveillance system will meet your expectations.

Have you planned for growth? 85% of video surveillance projects will add cameras within one to two years.

Are you installing at multiple facilities or campuses?

If installing at multiple facilities or multiple recorders, is centralized management important?

Do you need remote access (smartphones / tablets)?

One Size Does Not Fit All

Like choosing the correct size of pants, sizing your video surveillance recorders is an important step to the success of your project. For example you are not going to pry a size forty-four inch waist into a pair of jeans with sixteen inch waist without some complications. It might work but is that really the look you were going for? Just like if you try to put forty-four cameras on standalone sixteen channel DVRs. Technically will it work, yes, but are you really getting your money’s worth and a system you can use efficiently? Probably not.

Small systems with big capabilities:

Hosted video surveillance has started to gain traction within the industry in the last couple years. Primarily this type of video surveillance system solution best fits the customer who is looking for one to five cameras at any one location. This is ideally suited to small offices, franchises or shops looking to get basic video coverage. For a monthly or annual subscription fee they would get access to their cameras through a secured web portal from any device connected to the internet.

Advantages:

Low start up costs

No onsite recording equipment necessary.

Ease of use (no advanced degree required to operate)

User based access

Smartphone / tablet compatible

The guys in the middle:

Typically the sweet spot for this type of video surveillance systems is in the one to thirty-two camera range. These systems are based off Network Video Recording (NVR) technologies and tend to be standalone units such as NUUO’s (4, 8, & 16 channel) NVRmini systems. These video surveillance systems deliver many of the same benefits of the larger systems but with a lower cost of ownership.

Advantages:

Cost effective

Ease of use (no advanced degree required to operate)

Web based administration and management portal

User based access

Smartphone / tablet compatible

Both Web based & client accessible

Most NVR units have built in hard drive redundancy. NUUO NVR’s currently uses (4) standard hard drives in a RAID5 configuration for either 3TB or 6TB capacity.

Performance monitoring

E.T. phone home function: the system will notify you via Email or text if cameras go offline or the unit is operating out of normal state

Supersize me:

Large to Enterprise level video surveillance systems can range from sixteen cameras and up. These video surveillance systems such as ONSSI’s Ocularis product line tend to be for projects with any of the following requirements: large number of cameras, multiple recorders, multiple facilities, centralized management, video event monitoring, additional analytics or all of the above. These solutions are based on proven Microsoft Windows server technologies. This allows the systems to fully integrate into your company’s IT infrastructure using your company’s security policies and redundancy standards.

Advantages:

Scalability for unlimited number of cameras

Supports multiple server at multiple sites

Centralized management

Video event monitoring

Advanced video investigation tools

Ease of use (no advanced degree required to operate)

User based access / Active Directory compatible

Smartphone / tablet compatible

Client accessible

Server based hardware platform customizable to project needs

Integration with third party analytics

Performance monitoring

E.T. phone home function: the system will notify you via Email or text if cameras go offline for any reason or the unit is operating out of normal state

As with all things technology based there is a constant influx of new video surveillance technology being developed and introduced into the marketplace each quarter. To help navigate these constantly changing environments choose a video surveillance partner you can trust and is committed to staying up-to-date with the latest technology. IP video surveillance systems, or cabling network technology in Chicago, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

IT operations are an important facet for most businesses in the world today, whether they are small or large. Installing and maintaining a quality modern data center should be a top priority.

A central concern is business continuity; businesses rely heavily on their IT systems to run their day-to-day operations. If a system fails, company operations may be halted completely. This makes it compulsory to implement a dependable data infrastructure for IT operations, thereby minimizing costly disruption and data loss.

Information security is also a worry. For this reason a modern data center has to present a protected environment that minimizes the risk of a security breach. A data center must remain efficient, therefore ensuring the continued operation of its hosted computer domain. This is achieved through backup of both fiber optic cables and power, including some form of emergency backup power generation.

The Telecommunications Industry Association’s TIA-942 Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers, defines the minimum requirements for telecommunications infrastructure of data centers and computer rooms including single tenant enterprise data centers and multi-tenant Internet hosting data centers. The information presented in this document is intended to be applicable for any size data center.

Maintaining an efficient IT Department often requires installing a modern data center.

Efficient modern data center activity demands a balanced investment in both the facility and the equipment. The first step is to provide a proper facility space sufficient for equipment installation. Standardization and modularity can produce savings and efficiencies in the design and construction of telecommunications data centers.

Standardization means combining building and equipment engineering. Modularity has the advantage of scalability and easier growth, even when forecasts for future cabling additions are less than ideal. For these reasons, telecommunications data centers should be arranged in repetitive building blocks of equipment, and related power and support (conditioning) equipment. The use of committed centralized systems requires very accurate forecasts of future needs to avert expensive over-construction, or worse — under-construction that fails to meet future needs.

There is a recent trend to modernize data centers in order to take advantage of the performance and energy efficiency demands of newer IT equipment and capabilities, such as Cloud Computing. This process is known as Data Center Transformation.

Today, businesses are experiencing rapid IT growth but their data centers are aging. Industry research company International Data Corporation (IDC) puts the average age of a data center at nine-years-old. Gartner, another research company says data centers older than seven years are obsolete. In May 2011, data center research organization Uptime Institute, reported that thirty-six percent of the large companies it surveyed expect to reach IT capacity within the next eighteen months. Chances are, if you haven’t upgraded your IT data center recently, you are already reaching the tipping point.

Data center transformation takes a step-by-step approach through consolidating projects carried out over time. This contrasts from a traditional method of data center upgrades that takes a serial and siloed approach. Common assignments within a Data Center Transformation initiative include standardization/consolidation, virtualization, automation and security.

Standardization/consolidation: The purpose of this project is to reduce the number of data centers a large business may have accrued over the years. This also helps to reduce the number of hardware, software platforms, tools and processes within a data center. Businesses replace aging data center equipment with newer ones that provide increased capacity and performance. Computing, networking and management platforms are standardized so they are easier to administer.

Virtualize: There is a trend to use IT virtualization technologies to replace or consolidate multiple data center equipment, such as servers. Virtualization helps to lower capital and operational expenses, reducing energy consumption. Data released by investment bank Lazard Capital Markets reports that forty-eight percent of enterprise operations will be virtualized by 2012. Gartner views virtualization as a catalyst for modernization.

Securing: In modern data centers, the security of data on virtual systems is integrated with existing security of physical infrastructures. The security of a modern data center must take into account physical security, network security, and data and user security.

To get more information on how to keep the IT Department in your company upgraded and running efficiently by installing and maintaining a modern data center in the Chicago, IL, area, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

Have you ever hired a cabling contractor that wasn’t BICSI Certified? He comes in, completes the work but it turns out he was either incompetent or he installed faulty or cheap cabling resulting in expensive work downtime, loss of important electronic data and a lot of stress for you. There was an easy way to avoid this problem: make sure your cabling contractor is BICSI Certified.

In response to this industry concern, global minimum cabling standards were created over a decade ago by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI).

These global minimum standards cover the entire range of voice, data, electronic safety and security, project management and audio and video technologies. They include the design, assimilation and installation of pathways, spaces, optical fiber- and copper-based distribution systems, wireless-based systems and infrastructure that supports the delivery of information and related signaling between and among communications and information collection equipment.

The systems these global minimum standards cover:

K-12 ITS (Information Technology Systems) Design Standards – Education in modern schools is quickly changing as new technology and teaching methodologies are practiced by teachers, instructors and school administrators. Standards for the design of ITS systems used within the educational ranges of K-12 (primary and secondary) schools and facilities were composed (BICSI001). Providing information that includes multidisciplinary design applications, this standard shows how you can save money in building construction and renovation, as well as plan for future growth and changes.

In addition, taking into account the specialized needs of the end users—the students— this standard goes beyond regular comparable design standards and provides direction in the selection and operation of materials, such as types of cabling, providing a safe environment for all.

Data Center Design Standards– Data center design and expansion is predicted to remain steady over the next decade globally. With the ever increasing focus on dependability and efficiency, the fundamental design is more important than ever. Thus, today’s data center designer should have essential knowledge of mechanical, electrical and telecommunications systems and how they interface with each other—areas not typically found in the same reference manual or standard.Until 2011. BICSI updated their BICSI002 standard, creating requirements, recommendations and additional information that should be contemplated when working with crucial systems, like electrical, mechanical, and telecommunication networks, as well as other important needs, such as site selection, security, and building demands.

Cabling Installation Standards – In 1998, a large number of companies in the telecommunications and electrical industries became concerned over the lack of a standard for installation of data and telecommunications cabling systems. The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) asked BICSI to jointly address the task of creating the required standard requested. BICSI accepted the task, and the project was assigned to BICSI/NECA Joint Technical Committee 1 for the “Development of Telecommunications Cabling Installation Guidelines.”

Cable and Rack Grounding and Bonding Standards – An effective cable and rack grounding and bonding system can prevent injury and equipment damage. With the complexity of today’s cabling infrastructure there’s little leeway for outages. Any system, including the cable grounding and bonding network, can be the most problematic link.

NECA/BICSI 607 details aspects of designing and installation of cable and rack grounding and bonding systems. While this standard is in line with related standards, such as the NEC® and ANSI/J-STD-607, Commercial Building Grounding (Earthing) and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunications, further requirements and information for components and connectors of these systems are also included. And as the best design can be ruined by poor execution, a majority of NECA/BICSI 607 concerns installation methods and practices to decrease potential cable grounding system failure.

These global standards were created to protect you. Make sure you ask if your contractor is BICSI Certified before you hire him, you’ll avoid expensive work downtime, electronic data loss and a lot of stress if you do.

To get more information on Global Minimum Cabling Standards for voice, data, video, project management, and security technologies, or to find a BICSI certified cabling contractor in the Chicago area, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

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Mon, 21 May 2012 06:24:03 +0000http://www.nationalnewstoday.com/?p=28306www.4cps.com

Copper or fiber for IT cabling: what’s the real story?

Many organizations just like yours are struggling to read between the hype and reality concerning copper and fiber cables and everyone is pushing their own agenda. Discovering the perfect solution for your cabling infrastructure is a difficult task. However, once you understand the distinct properties of copper and fiber cabling for IT infrastructure, your solution may seem clearer.

This article is designed to discuss the pros and cons of each cable option, finally giving you the truth you’ll need to make an informed decision. Those who need Chicago area IT cablingmay also find it helpful to consult with a certified Computer Power Systems expert who can consider the unique needs at an individual facility.

Copper cabling, the beginning:

Copper wiring was first used for communication through the telephone. To save resources, the same infrastructure was used for internet data transfer. Phone cables were suitable for ADSL lines because the unused frequencies at which they operate were still capable of hauling large amounts of data. However, there is a limit to how much data can be transferred at one time and the internet grows more speed-hungry by the day.

Fiber cabling, the beginning:

The use of fiber optic cables started emerging in the 1980s shortly after the first transmissions in 1977 when General Telephone Electronics started demonstrating the potential of this technology. The technology has since seen improvement over the years and carries large transmission velocities across long distances (up to about 200 kilometers). Now that there were choices, business owners found themselves deciding on whether copper or fiber cabling for IT infrastructure was best for their facility. They both have advantages as well as disadvantages to consider.

The advantages of copper cabling:

Power over Ethernet (PoE) – This gives you the ability to power phones, surveillance cameras, wireless access points and many other devices right through the networking cable itself. Another advantage is the ability to connect an emergency power supply to the cable that will continue powering mission critical devices when your electricity goes out. Fiber does not conduct an electric current.

Less expensive electronics – If you’re going to take fiber to the workspace, realize that most PC’s come with copper NIC cards. Optical ones will cost you $100-$200 each.

More flexible – Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) environments are built to run on copper infrastructures. Fiber can be used; however, the electronics that make it work are expensive.

The advantages of fiber cabling:

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) – Optical fiber is immune to the interference in signal transmission or reception caused by the radiation of electrical and magnetic fields because it is not able to conduct electric current. Copper cabling, if not installed properly, is vulnerable to the effects of EMI.

High bandwidth – Fiber has a higher bandwidth than copper. Example: Cat6A cabling is classified to handle a bandwidth up to 600 MHz over 100 meters, carrying 18,000 calls at the same time. Multimode fiber has a bandwidth over 1000 MHz, carrying almost 31,000 simultaneous calls.

Less expensive – Fiber cable is actually less expensive than copper, but don’t forget the expensive electronics it requires.

Lightweight – An optical cable weighs much less than a comparable copper wire cable.

Non-flammable – Electrical current can’t flow through a fiber cable. Copper cabling does carry a current and could cause a fire concern if it’s old and worn.

Distance – Whether you use copper or fiber cabling, there will be a loss in signal strength as the length of the cable increases. This loss is called attenuation. For example, over a 100 meter distance a multimode fiber loses only 3% of its original signal strength. A Cat6A cable loses 94% of its signal strength at the same distance.

Security – Eavesdropping on a LAN using copper cables only requires a sensitive antenna to pick up the energy radiated from the cable. Since optical fiber doesn’t transmit electricity it doesn’t radiate energy and cannot be tapped by an antenna.

Of course, your structured cabling decisions are dependent on your very specific circumstances, which can often be complex. Hopefully, this article helped shed some light on the cabling options available to you, allowing you to fully maximize your cabling infrastructure and prepare you for the media rich applications of the future. If you’d like to speak with a Chicago area IT cabling expert who can address the specific needs of your organization, or if you’d like some guidance in deciding whether copper or fiber cabling for IT infrastructure is the best choice, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

What is the “shocking” truth about power outages and the need to protect your business from power loss downtime?

Power outages have become a real concern and can threaten a company’s bottom line with work outages. In fact, J.D. Power & Associates recently conducted a study and found that the average business experiences 5.7 outages per year. In a related study, The Electric Power Research Institute found that, on average, a one second power outage costs a business $1,477; worse yet, the tab for a one hour outage explodes to $7,795. Overall, this costs the U.S. economy between $104 and $164 billion annually.

With numbers like those, it’s no surprise that many companies, both large and small, are now recognizing the importance of having some way to protect electronic equipmentfrom interruptions due to power failure or power surges.

But the loss of income is just one of the unfortunate downsides of a power surge or loss. Permanent hardware and electronic data loss is also a distinct possibility. A surge can destroy the power supply or motherboard in your computer and the destruction of your company’s important electronic data information can be irreparable, crippling your business for weeks. There are solutions to help you avoid this scenario.

Let’s take a look at one solution in particular. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a battery back-up device that sits between an A/C outlet (i.e. a wall outlet or power strip) and an electronic device (such as a computer, server or phone equipment) to prevent power disturbances (outages, sags, surges, spikes, noise, etc.) from affecting the performance and life of the electronic device. For example, once the main power line in your facility has been interrupted, the UPS activates, sending a continual stream of power to your computer, allowing you to continue to work for an allotted period of time or to sign off, safely preserving your electronic data.

Take the time to do your research, find an experienced professional installer that can supply the right knowledge to protect electronic infrastructure from power surges or loss, as well as equipment for any of your company’s needs, whether you are protecting a building, a room or individual electronic loads.

A professional installer with a complete family of power protection products can show you how to maintain your electric load during a power outage, using an uninterruptible power supply or another one of the options above, tailoring it to your specific load and time requirements. And the money you spend on the initial installation will be saved during the first powerful summer storm that knocks out the power in your area.

Shielding your business from power outages, brownouts, surges and spikes with power protection products can save you thousands that otherwise would have been sent up in smoke. To get more information on ways to protect your company’s electronic equipment in Chicago Area, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

Cable Management is a term used to refer to products used for the purpose of properly securing electrical, data and other cables. It is important in many communication networks, including IT facility wiring, power distribution, local area networks, etc.

The purpose of Cable Management is three-fold: To support cables while they’re being routed through the building from Point A to Point B, to make subsequent management of the cables through the lifetime of the installation easier and to protect cables from failing due to electrical interference.

Cables can easily become entangled, making them difficult to work with, sometimes resulting in devices accidentally becoming unplugged as one attempts to move the cable. Such cases are known as “Cable Spaghetti”. Some cables have requirements for minimum bend radius or proximity to other cables, particularly power cables, to avoid crosstalk or interference.

What are some cable management solutions?

Typically, products such as cable trays, cable ladders and cable baskets are used to support a cable through cabling routes. The IT industry has special needs because, unlike heavy power cables, IT data cables often need to be added, moved, or removed many times during the life of the installation. It is usual practice to install fixed cables between cabling closets or cabinets, these cables are contained in cable trays.

Power cables often need to be grouped separately and suitably apart from IT data cables and only cross at right angles which minimize electromagnetic interference.

Buildings and office furniture are often designed with cable management in mind, for instance, desks sometimes have holes to pass cables through. Dropped ceilings and raised floors provide easy access. Above drop ceilings, hooks and trays are used to organize cables and protect them from electrical interference.

Running cables through cable guides and clipping or stapling them to walls are other common methods of keeping them organized.

What should you expect from the installer?

A disordered wiring site is a safety hazard and can cause system inefficiency. A reputable, experienced team of technicians will solve these problems by offering these important services:

Installation of sleeves through ceiling for network cabling, giving a neat and professional appearance.

Installation of a new rack system in order to accommodate newer switches or newer technology

In the end, managing your structured cabling can be very cost effective, saving your company from expensive down-time and longer installer visits. To get more information on Cable Management in the Chicago Area, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

It’s happened to all of us. You’re on your cell phone at your facility with an important client and when you go into an elevator the call is suddenly dropped. The signal, and possibly customer opportunities, is lost completely. And like most horror stories, this “Dead Zone” can appear in any part of your facility at any time. Allowing a problem like this to persist can frustrate customers and clients and harm your professional image. As a society, we’ve become used to our technology being constantly available and when it’s not, frustration is a fairly quick reaction. It behooves you to find a way to eliminate cellular dead zones in your building.

There is a solution that can save you from this nightmare: you can install a cellular phone booster in your facility. This relatively new wireless technology can extend cellular service in poor coverage areas from three thousand to twenty thousand square feet per floor by amplifying both transmit and receive signals by up to 500%.

A cellular phone booster to extend the network will dramatically reduce problems with dropped calls and signal fades while improving service range, voice quality and access. In real time, that means reduced frustration, better communications, and more consistent service both inside and outside the company.

How does a cellular phone booster work?

It’s an efficient, compact system that’s as easy as 1-2-3…

1. An outdoor antenna is installed on the roof, pointed at the cell tower you currently ping from. The antenna captures the signals then sends them to a bi-directional cellular amplifier placed inside your facility.

2. The bi-directional cellular amplifier boosts the incoming signal from the tower and sends it to indoor antennas installed on each floor.

3. The indoor antennas then rebroadcast the incoming signal, almost as if each floor had its own cell tower right in the building. This results in a clear reliable signal with no “Dead Zones” in your facility.

Get more clarity, be more productive, and receive more signals.

A reputable installer can install this new technology eliminating the dead zones in your facility in less than two hours and very economically. It has been designed to accommodate anything from a small house to an aircraft carrier (it’s been done!).

There are many different kinds of boosters, antennas and fixed wireless terminals available allowing you the freedom to design the exact system you need, depending on your facility’s requirements, whether it be offices, warehouses or basements.

Using booster technology will bring in those weak signals, reduce dropped calls and allow you to use cell phones deep inside the Chicago area’s tallest and widest buildings – forever ending your “Dead Zone” horror stories. To get more information on how to eliminate dead zones in Chicago Area, IL buildings or other data, voice and cabling concerns, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

Just like our actual heart and veins, the health and efficiency of your company’s internal structured cabling is one of the most important elements of your business, and yet it’s one that an owner or manager rarely thinks about until there’s a problem. It’s usually taken for granted that structured cabling will stay in perfect working order forever. It won’t. Whether it’s copper or fiber cablingin your network, it has the potential to fail. Experiencing sudden network down-time can be very much like a sudden heart attack for your business!

When a cabling installer completes an installation all the new cables should be tested and passed before they leave the job site. But what if you moved your company into a different building with older, existing cabling? Should you trust that everything is in working order? Will you risk expensive network down-time in ignoring it? The solution is to schedule routine testing of structured cabling, especially when there is an older, pre-existing network in place.

What kinds of test equipment are used?

There are two main tools that are used for testing structured cabling by most reputable cabling companies. They are easy to use and provide the accuracy and speed needed to meet industry standards.

DTX Series Tester: This is a hand held unit used mainly for copper wire certification. It allows the technician to analyze test results and create professional test results using Linkware reporting software. It can test Cat5, Cat6 cables, patch cords, coax cabling, 10 gig cabling and will verify your network with extreme accuracy. The specific areas of cabling the DTX monitors are length of cable, bandwidth, decibels of overhead, channel links, crosstalk, return loss and wire map. An OTDR adapter can be fitted to the DTX, allowing it to test fiber cabling.

OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer): This is an optoelectronic instrument used to characterize an optical fiber. An OTDR injects a series of optical pulses into the fiber under test. It also extracts, from the same end of the fiber, light that is scattered or reflected back from points along the fiber. The strength of the return pulses is measured and integrated as a function of time and is plotted as a function of fiber length. An OTDR may be used for estimating a fiber’s length and overall attenuation, including splice and mated connector losses. It may also be used to locate faults such as breaks and to measure optical return loss.

Proper instrument operation and interpretation of an OTDR trace requires special technical training and experience, it is preferable that a BICSI certified technician is on site when testing with the OTDR.

What should you expect from the installer?

A professional, reputable cable installer will use these tools to perform accurate and quick testing of structured cabling with the least interruption to your employees. Preferably, they should come in either before the workday begins or after the workday ends, and they should leave the job site as clean and undisturbed as it was when they arrived. Finally, they should supply you with complete accurate test documentation of the work they performed on any copper or fiber cabling, whether it’s Cat 5, Cat 6 copper or 9/125 micrometer single mode, 50/125, 62.5/125 micrometer multimode fiber at your facility.

In the end, testing your existing cabling is a smart and cost-effective decision and one that will benefit your company for years to come. To get more information on testing structured cabling in the Chicago area, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

Gone are the days when a business owner could let anyone just walk in to his/her work place without a care. It’s a dangerous world out there and the need to protect your employees and product investment with some form of Access Control at work has never been more important.

To help us sift through the various reasons for and options available to the business community in the field of Access Control is expert installer Scott Besaw.

Q: Why is having an Access Control system important for a business?

A: Well, the obvious security benefit is reason enough but not many people realize that there’s a cost savings aspect to it as well. For example, let’s say an employee has left the company for employment somewhere else; all the owner has to do is deactivate the employee’s access control key fob. There’s no cost or a drawn out process of changing all the locks in the building. You can easily limit access to your building, controlling who comes in and out and when very economically.

Q: What different kinds of Access Control solutions are there?

A: Many. They all range from very sophisticated to very simple one or two door options such as a Stand-Alone with a simple keypad security lock. Others include the Prox Reader, access control key fob or key card, and the Biometric Fingerprint Reader. All of these can be tied in to an external relay on a fire alarm for free egress should an emergency happen.

All of these Access Control options do more than just offer safe and secure access at work: they perform a variety of functions that benefit the overall security of a work place. Some can be programmed to automatically lock and unlock doors at specific times. You can document and report access activity, this feature is excellent for critical information before and after an incident. You have the capability to color code badges to readily identify visitors, temps, contractors or full-time employees. Most have time and attendance abilities, recording when a person enters and exits a building on a daily basis. You can even connect and coordinate with video surveillance, time and attendance recording as well as control your heating and air conditioning systems.

Q: So what should a customer in the market for an Access Control system keep in his/her mind before purchasing one?

A: Access control with monitoring is a lot more effective than security without it. They have to know how many locations they want covered and how many doors. One of our customers, whose main building is in Dallas, has locations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. We installed a system where all those locations link up to a server in their Dallas building, so that all Access Control information goes through one window and can be monitored easily.

Ask yourself: would a door strike system work better in that location or a magnetic lock? And, of course, they need to consider the costs involved. In the end most realize that the peace of mind they get after an Access Control system is installed far outweighs the initial cost. When I’ve completed a job I personally walk the owner and manager through the operation of the system, showing them how to program it to add people, add a door or link it to the security camera.

Q: Where should a business owner go to purchase an Access Control system?

A: Amazingly, there are still companies out there that don’t have any form of Access Control. Any business looking to install or upgrade a current system needs to find a company that will assess the current infrastructure, customize a solution to fit the customer’s particular needs and provide a complete installation with the ability to maintain and service the system in the future.

To get more information on offering secure Access Control at work with monitoring in Chicago Area, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.

“This cable goes to….and this one goes to….why did all the screens just go out?”

Your phone and data cabling are the lifeblood of your company and the lack of cable management could be the kiss of death for your business. Cabling management can become a nightmare when you have to guess what cable goes where and usually winds up looking like a wall of exploded spaghetti, this can lead to calling in another company to perform a site clean-up and re-test cables. So much of this can be avoided with accurate records of what cable number goes to what location, documenting the site the first time saves so many headaches later on.

When it comes to managing your facility’s cabling infrastructure it is imperative that you know the site location of each network connection both for troubleshooting problems and making changes to a location’s resources. The biggest thing to avoid with network cabling installation is the neglected step of including a location diagram for documenting the data and phone jack locations.

Good documentation is not restricted to only jack locations; you may need to know where that pesky satellite hook-up in the rear of the building is or where the fiber backbone in the ceiling or under the floor resides. Security camera locations, sound sphere locations, wire closet locations, etc…A good cabling contractor leaves their customer with full documentation of what they have installed.

What does ‘documenting’ the cabling on a job site mean?

When a good data network cabling company returns to change or add locations or equipment to your job site, he’ll bring a hard copy of the floor diagram, like a blueprint. As he terminates the new jack locations he documents what he’s done on the diagram. When he’s finished, the installer will give the documented floor diagram to a documentation technician from his company. The doc tech will plug in all the location numbers on a digital version of the diagram, using software programs like CAD or Visio. Then the doc tech creates a .PDF of it, and updates the onsite copy either digitally or in printer format.

The digital documentation can be a self-running CD or USB drive or web site but it should be easy to navigate and provide important information such as:

Documented Floor Diagram (s)

Detailed Test Results of each jack location

Wiring Center Schematic (s)

Site Pictures (if required)

Documenting the process with a proper floor diagram is a “must” for cabling management.

Having a company that continually maintains and supplies you with up to date documentation for your job site is important for so many reasons, whether you’re constantly updating, upgrading and adding jack locations or doing it once every year or two. It can be much less confusing and time consuming for the person managing the site and for the installer doing additions, moves, and changes, leading to less cost for you.

A reputable cable installer should complete the process by documenting the network cabling for each job upon completion of the work and free of charge; repeat customers should receive updated documentation each time the site is modified. Amazingly, some cable installing companies don’t even offer this service to their clients; they either keep the information for themselves or don’t do it at all. If you’re not getting this service from your current cable installer, you should find one that will. To get more information on how proper documenting a job site for network and data cabling should be done in Chicago, IL, visit www.4cps.com or call 847-548-1600.